DKJJW  TuKOIvOGICAL  bEKLlN 


MALAYSIA 


MISSION 


MALAY 

PENINSULA 

v 

I  POM 

MALACCA 

SINGAPORE 


NORTH 

BORNEO; 


PENANG 


BAR  A  WAN 


U  LI  NO 

\  BOR  NEO 


MACASSAR 


TIMOR 


Methodist  Episcopal  Church 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/rnalaysiamissiono00deny_0 


BISHOP  JAMES  HILLS  THOBURN,  D.D.,  LL.D 


THE 


MALAYSIA  MISSION  OF  THE 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH 


By 

The  Rev.  JOHN  RUSSELL  DENYES 

MISSIONARY,  SINGAPORE 
MALAYSIA 


Published  by  the 

OPEN  DOOR  EMERGENCY  COMMISSION 
MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 
150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


Price,  Ten  Cents 


EDITED  BY 


Charles  H.  Morgan 


ISHOP  JAMES  MILLS  THOBURN,D.D., 


LL.D.,  was  born  at  St.  Clairsville,  Ohio, 


—  March  7, 1836.  After  graduation  from 
Allegheny  College  in  1857  and  service  for  two 
years  as  a  pastor,  he  responded  to  the  call  of 
God  and  the  Church,  and  sailed  April  12, 1859, 
for  India, which  has  formed  the  broad  basis  of 
a  missionary  career  world-wide  in  the  sweep 
of  its  influence.  Elected  a  Missionary  Bishop 
for  India,  May  25, 1888,  by  outlook  and  leader¬ 
ship  inspiring  steps  of  advauce  which  have 
embraced  India,  Burma,  Malaysia,  and  the 
Philippine  Islands,  multiplying  the  number 
of  communicants  in  some  sections  tenfold  in 
a  decade,  enlarging  by  voice  and  pen  the  faith 
and  gifts  of  the  Church  at  home  to  make 
possible  still  greater  achievements  abroad,  he 
is  completing  a  missionary  course  marked  by 
the  vision  of  a  prophet  and  the  labors  of  an 
apostle. 


Copyright  by  Century  Company 


MOUNT  SALAK  FROM  THE  RESIDENT  S  GARDEN,  BEITBNZORG,  JAVA 


MALAYSIA  MISSION 


NATURAL  FEATURES  AND  PEOPLE 

Malaysia,  the  home  of  the  Malay,  or  brown  man,  lies  to 
the  southeast  of  Asia,  between  Indo-China  and  Australia.  It 
includes  the  Malay  Peninsula  and  the  larger  half  of  the  islands 
of  the  Eastern  Archipelago.  The  principal  islands  of  this 
The  Land  group  are  Sumatra,  a  country  as  large  as  the  States  of 
Areas  Iowa,  Missouri,  and  Arkansas;  Java,  of  the  size  of  New 

York  State;  Celebes,  the  territorial  equal  of  all  New  Eng¬ 
land;  Borneo,  nearly  four  times  as  large  as  Illinois;  and  all  the 
hundreds  of  lesser  islands  and  islets  which  appear  so  insig¬ 
nificant  upon  the  map,  but  which  are  in  reality  countries 
capable  of  supporting  a  large  population.  The  Philippine 
Islands  are  properly  a  part  of  Malaysia,  but  as  they  are 
treated  in  a  separate  booklet  they  will  not  be  discussed 
further  in  this  one.  New  Guinea  and  the  islands  lying  to 
the  east  of  it  belong  rather  to  Polynesia  than  to  Malaysia; 
for  the  people,  the  animals,  the  birds,  and  even  the  plants 
showr  a  marked  departure  from  the  types  found  in  Malaysia. 
The  land  area  embraced  within  the  bounds  of  Malaysia 
amounts  to  seven  hundred  thousand  square  miles,  a  terri¬ 
tory  equal  to  one  fifth  of  the  area  of  the  United  States. 

Much  of  the  country  is  mountainous.  In  Sumatra  and 
Java  and  in  many  of  the  smaller  islands  there  are  active  vol¬ 
canoes,  and  these  countries  are  subject  to  frequent  and  vio¬ 
lent  earthquakes.  The  climate  is  hot  and  moist.  The 
Climate  thermometer  stands  at  about  ninety  degrees  in  the  shade 
the  year  around.  There  is  no  time  in  the  year  when  it 
is  safe  for  a  European  to  go  about  exposed  to  the  sun  be- 

5 


tween  the  hours  of  nine  o’clock  in  the  morning  and  four  in 
the  afternoon  without  a  pith  or  a  cork  helmet.  Rain  falls  on 
an  average  of  two  hundred  days  in  the  year. 

For  the  most  part-  the  country  is  covered  with  a  jungle  so 
dense  that  a  human  being  cannot  make  his  way  through  it 


ROAI)  THROUGH  THE  JUNGLE 


save  as  he  hews  for  himself  a  road  or  follows  the  paths  of  the 
wild  beasts.  These  jungles  are  the  homes  of  the  rhi- 
Flora  and  noceros,  the  hippopotamus,  the  elephant,  the  buffalo, 
Fauna  wild  cattle,  deer,  bear,  tigers,  panthers,  monkeys,  pigs, 
monstrous  serpents,  and  thousands  of  smaller  animals 
and  creeping  things. 

r. 


FRUITS  OF  MALAYSIA 


The  chief  products  are  tin,  of  which  this  territory  furnishes 
more  than  half  of  the  world’s  total  output,  rubber,  rice, 
cocoanuts,  pineapples,  cinchona  bark,  pepper,  spices, 
Products  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  indigo,  tobacco,  rattan,  tapioca, 
sandalwood,  and  teak. 

In  this  island  territory  there  are  about  forty  million  peo¬ 
ple,  of  whom  more  than  half  live  in  the  island  of  Java.  The 
majority  of  these  are  members  of  the  Malay  family.  "They 


DYAK  HEAD  HUNTER 


have  a  light  brown  complexion,  straight  black  hair,  and  are 
three  or  four  inches  shorter  than  the  average  occidental. 
The  sexes  do  not  differ  much  in  appearance.  They  are  slow 
and  circumlocutory  of  speech,  courteous  and  dignified, 

8 


seldom  offensive  or  quarrelsome,  jealous  of  any  encroach¬ 
ment  on  personal  freedom,  and  possess  greater  energy  and 
acquisitiveness  than  other  natives  of  the  islands.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  are  gloomy,  indolent,  without  self- 
Malay  control,  strongly  addicted  to  gambling  and  opium 

Population  smoking,  pitilessly  cruel,  and  much  given  to  theft 
and  piracy.  A  distinction,  however,  should  be  made, 
as  they  are  divided  into  two  great  groups — the  savage  and 
the  semicivilized.  The  head-hunting  Dyaks  of  Borneo  are 
the  best  representatives  of  the  former.  They  have  no  litera¬ 
ture  or  regular  government,  and  wear  only  the  scantiest 
clothing.  The  rest  are  semicivilized,  possess  written  lan¬ 
guages,  and  a  limited  literature;  they  have  established  gov¬ 
ernments  and  some  form  of  religion,  and  are  fairly  well 
provided  with  tools.” 

The  most  important  element  of  the  foreign  population 
settled  in  Malaysia  is  the  Chinese.  Already  numbering 
more  than  two  million,  they  are  pouring  into  this  region  in 
large  numbers  from  southern  China.  They  are  the 
The  Chinese  mechanics,  the  miners,  the  farmers,  and  the  traders 
of  the  islands.  Though  many  of  them  return  in 
the  course  of  time  to  their  native  land,  yet  many  others 
make  their  homes  in  the  new  country,  modify  to  a  consider¬ 
able  extent  their  dress,  their  customs,  their  religions,  and 
even  their  language,  adopting  the  speech  of  the  Malay. 

In  1895  there  were  sixty-two  thousand  Europeans  and 
Eurasians  living  in  the  archipelago.  Most  of  these 
Europeans  were  of  Dutch  descent,  and  were  living  in  the  Dutch 
possessions. 

Sumatra,  Java,  Celebes,  the  Moluccas,  and  two  thirds  of 
Borneo,  besides  most  of  the  smaller  islands,  belong  to  Hol¬ 
land,  and  are  ruled  by  a  governor-general  whose  residence  is 
at  Batavia,  in  Java.  The  lower  part  of  the  Malay 
Government  Peninsula,  and,  in  Borneo,  the  sections  of  Sarawak, 
Brunei,  British  North  Borneo,  and  the  island  of 
Labuan  are  either  British  colonies  or  under  British  control. 
The  upper  part  of  the  Malay  Peninsula  is  under  the  pro¬ 
tection  of  Siam. 

9 


RELIGIONS 


Speaking  generally,  the  Malays  are  Mohammedans.  Be¬ 
fore  the  introduction  of  Mohammedanism,  Brahmanism, 
Sivaism,  and  Buddhism  prevailed  largely  throughout  Su¬ 
matra  and  Java.  This  is  shown  by  the  numer- 
Chiefly  ous  ruins  of  old  temples,  scattered  all  over  these 

Mohammedans  islands.  Even  now  Islam  does  not  mean  here 
what  it  does  in  Arabia  and  Turkey.  The  Malay 
has  adopted  the  creed  of  Mohammed,  but  this  has  “  only  in¬ 
creased  the  number  of  supersensual  beings  to  whom  he 
prays.”  Trees,  rocks,  fields,  villages  all  have  their  patron 
spirits.  Diseases  are  attributed  to  spirits,  which  must  be 
propitiated.  Offerings  are  also  made  to  Scripture  characters. 
Joseph  rewards  his  worshipers  with  children,  Solomon  with 
rank  and  fame,  Moses  with  bravery,  and  Jesus  with  wisdom. 
Mohammedanism,  however,  is  gradually  obtaining  a  more 
complete  ascendency,  owing  to  the  influence  of  Arabian 
priests  and  the  zeal  of  the  pilgrims  returning  from  Mecca. 
More  than  ten  thousand  Malays  make  this  journey  every 
year. 

The  heathen  tribes  worship  “  fetiches,  skulls,  bones,  trees, 
animals,  and  the  heavenly  bodies,  besides  countless  spirits, 
visible  and  invisible.” 

The  Chinese  retain  most  of  the  religious  rites  and  customs 
of  China,  especially  ancestral  worship. 

GENERAL  MISSIONARY  WORK 

Mission  work  has  been  carried  on  among  the  people  of  the 
Dutch  possessions  in  Malaysia  since  1603.  The  results  have 
not  been  very  gratifying,  owing  partly  to  the  methods 
adopted  and  partly  to  the  opposition  of  the  government 
Dutch  to  the  use  of  aggressive  measures  in  evangelization. 

Official  Dr.  Callenbach,  a  Dutch  authority,  says  that  in  1900 

Clergy  there  were  “some  41  European  clergymen  and  evangel¬ 
ists,  aided  by  355  ordained  natives,  native  preachers  and 
teachers,  working  among  234,073  natives  of  the  undenomi¬ 
national  Protestant  Church  of  the  East  Indies.”  In  this 

10 


Copyright  by  Century  Company 


BORO  BEODOR,  AN  OLD  BUDDHIST  TEMPLE,  JAVA 


Church  the  clergymen  of  the  parishes  are  chosen  by  a  com¬ 
mittee  in  Holland,  and  afterward  appointed  by  a  minister  of 
the  colonies.  Their  salaries  are  paid  by  the  government. 


JAVANESE  WOMEN 


In  addition  to  these  clergymen  of  the  State  Church  there 
are  in  the  islands  representatives  of  ten  Dutch  and  two  Ger¬ 
man  missionary  societies.  The  Salvation  Army  also 
Other  has  a  post  in  Batavia.  These  societies  claim  more 

Missionary  than  thirty-six  thousand  communicants,  most  of  them 
Movements  being  converts  from  Mohammedanism.  In  1820  a 
Baptist  missionary  opened  work  in  Sumatra,  and  in 
1834  the  American  Board  sent  out  Munson  and  Lyman,  but 

12 


they  were  murdered  by  the  natives  after  being  there  but  a 
short  time.  The  American  Board  also  carried  on  work  on 
the  west  coast  of  Borneo  from  1839  to  1849. 

Of  Celebes  Mr.  Alfred  Lea  says  that  among  the  islands  of 
Malaysia  there  is  “  no  other  spot  of  like  dimensions  whose 
people  are  so  well  taught,  so  intelligent,  and  so  well 
Work  in  behaved,  whose  villages  are  so  well  ordered  and  clean. 

Celebes  whose  houses  are  so  well  built  and  kept  in  such  good 

repair,  and  whose  women  and  children  are  so  well 
cared  for.” 

In  the  British  possessions  there  are  missionaries  of  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  the  English  Pres¬ 
byterian  Church,  the  Plymouth  Brethren,  the  Society  for 
the  Propagation  of  Female  Education  in  the  Far 
Anglo-Saxon  East,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  the 
Agencies  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association.  The  agents 

of  the  British  anti  Foreign  Bible  Society  travel 
throughout  both  the  English  and  the  Dutch  colonies.  It 
was  at  Malacca,  on  the 
west  coast  of  the  Malay 
Peninsula,  that  Milne, 

Medhurst,  and  Dr.  Legge 
founded  schools  and  did 
evangelistic  work  while 
they  were  learning  the 
language  and  waiting  for 
the  doors  of  the  Middle 
Kingdom  to  be  opened. 

When  these  missionaries 
could  enter  the  Chinese 
Empire,  the  work  in  the 
Straits  Settlements  was 
abandoned  and  they  with¬ 
drew  to  begin  work  in 
China.  But  that  field  is 
now  responding  nobly  by 

sending  many  Christian  CHINESE  RICE  mill  USED 
settlers  into  Malaysia.  IN  MALAYSIA 


13 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  MISSION 


In  February,  1885,  a  new  factor  appeared  in  the  religious 
life  of  Malaysia — the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  opened 
a  mission  in  Singapore.  The  founding  of  this  station  is  one 
of  the  romances  of  modern  mission  history.  For 
First  Step  by  several  years  Dr.  James  M.  Thoburn,  then  presiding 
Dr.  Thoburn  elder  of  the  Calcutta  District,  South  India  Confer¬ 
ence,  had  felt  a  growing  interest  in  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  forty  million  people  whose  commercial  interests 
center  about  the  city  of  Singapore,  the  “  gateway  of  the  far¬ 
ther  East.”  In  writing  of  this  period  Bishop  Thoburn  says: 
“At  length  I  became  so  impressed  with  the  importance  of 
the  project  that,  early  in  the  year  1884,  I  published  a  letter 
in  the  Western  Christian  Advocate  calling  for  two  young  men 
to  come  out  as  volunteers  and  occupy  the  distant  outpost  of 
Singapore.  I  had  nothing  to  offer  the  volunteers  except  a 
great  opportunity  to  do  and  dare  for  their  Master.  We  had 
not  a  dollar  of  financial  resources,  and  our  plan  was  to  do  as  we 
had  done  in  so  many  cities  of  India — preach  to  the  Europeans 
and  Eurasians,  organize  a  self-supporting  church  among  them, 
and  then  from  this  base  work  outward  among  the  non-Christian 
people.  The  utmost  that  I  could  promise  was  that  I  would  ac¬ 
company  the  two  young  men  and  help  them  make  a  start  by 
preaching  for  a  season  and  organizing  the  work  for  them.” 

Twenty  young  men  volunteered,  but  after  lengthy  corre¬ 
spondence  it  was  felt  that  no  two  of  these  wrere  fitted  for  this 
particular  work.  The  outcome  of  this  effort  might  have 
postponed  for  years  the  establishment  of  the  mission 
Providential  had  not  Providence  been  putting  into  operation 
Forces  other  forces.  Bishop  Hurst,  who  had  been  holding 

the  Conferences  in  Europe,  had  had  his  attention 
called  to  the  strategic  value  of  Singapore,  and  when  he  ar¬ 
rived  in  Haidarabad,  where  he  was  to  preside  over  the  South 
India  Conference,  he  was  enthusiastic  over  the  idea  of  found¬ 
ing  a  new  mission  in  Malaysia.  Under  the  inspiration  of  two 
such  leaders  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  Conference  was 
ready  to  undertake  great  things.  A  foreign  mission  deter- 

14 


mined  to  establish  a  foreign  mission,  and  the  name  of  William 
F.  Oldham  was  read  out  in  the  list  of  appointments  as  mis¬ 
sionary  to  Singapore. 

Mr.  Oldham,  Indian  born  of  English  parents,  was  in  many 
ways  admirably  adapted  to  accomplish  the  difficult  task 
mapped  out  for  him.  He  had  served  under  the  Indian  gov¬ 
ernment  as  a  civil  engineer,  but  after  his  conversion 
A  Prepared  felt  the  call  to  service  in  the  Church.  Realizing  the 
Leader  need  of  further  education,  lie,  with  his  wife,  came 

to  America,  where  he  remained  several  years  in  at¬ 
tendance  at  one  of  our 
colleges.  At  the  time  of 
his  appointment  to  Singa¬ 
pore  he  was  on  the  ocean 
on  his  way  to  India  to 
take  up  the  work  there 
under  the  Methodist 
Church. 

With  scarcely  enough 
money  to  pay  for  their 
passage  Dr.  Thoburn,  Mr. 

Oldham,  Mrs.  Thoburn, 
and  Miss  Battie  started 
for  Singapore.  Mrs.  Old¬ 
ham  remained  for  a  time 
with  her  mother  in  India, 
but  her  later  presence 
and  work  were  of  much 
value  in  the  early  pe¬ 
riod  of  the  new  mission. 

When  the  little  company  reached  Singapore  they  were 
met  at  the  wharf  by  Mr.  Charles  Phillips,  an  earnest  Christian 
who  had  been  so  impressed  by  a  dream  in  which 
A  N  ew  he  had  seen  a  ship  coming  in  with  a  party  of  mis- 

Macedonian  sionaries  on  board  that  he  had  gone  to  meet  the 
Vision  ship,  and  there  recognized  the  faces  seen  in  his 

dream.  Mr.  Phillips  took  them  to  his  home  and 
entertained  them  during  their  stay. 

15 


REV.  WILLIAM  F.  OLIUIAM,  D.I). 


The  Town  Hall  was  rented,  and  nightly  preaching  serv¬ 
ices  were  begun.  On  the  fourth  evening  the  first  break 
came,  and  several  were  converted.  The  meetings  continued 
for  three  weeks,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  seven- 
First  Fruits  teen  had  decided  to  unite  with  the  Methodist  Church. 

Two  of  these,  John  Polglase  and  F.  J.  Ben j afield,  had 
been  members  of  the  English  Methodist  Church,  and  they 
were  taken  into  full  membership.  The  other  fifteen  were 
received  on  probation.  It  was  with  this  little  church,  and 
with  the  promise  of  only  such  support  as  they  could  give 
him  that  Mr.  Oldham  was  left,  while  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Thoburn 
and  Miss  Battle  returned  to  India. 

From  1885  to  1887  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Oldham  carried  on  the 
work  alone,  but  during  the  next  three  years  there  followed  in 
rapid  succession  the  arrivals  of  the  Rev.  George  A.  Bond  and 
wife,  Miss  Sophia  A.  Blaekmore,  Rev.  Ralph  \V.  Mun- 
Succession  son  and  wife,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  F.  West,  M.D.,  and 
in  Service  wife,  the  Revs.  William  T.  Kensett,  William  N.  Brew¬ 
ster,  and  Charles  A.  Gray,  and  Dr.  Henry  L.  E.  Luer- 
ing.  Since  that  time  the  names  of  sixty  other  missionaries 
have  appeared  in  the  lists  of  appointments,  making  a  total  of 
seventy-three  since  1885.  In  this  list  are  not  counted  those 
who  have  gone  to  the  Philippines.  Of  these  seventy-three 
the  Conference  Minutes  of  1903  show  the  names  of  thirty- 
eight  as  still  enrolled.  Of  the  other  thirty-five  some  have 
gone  to  their  reward,  but  most  of  them,  broken  in  health, 
have  returned  to  the  homeland  to  stay. 

Seeing  the  need  of  work  among  the  women  of  Malaysia 
Mrs.  Oldham  sent  an  appeal  to  Mrs.  Mary  Nind,  then  secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Minneapolis  Branch  of  the  Woman’s  Foreign 
Missionary  Society.  There  was  no  money  in  the 
Woman’s  treasury  to  open  new  work,  but  Mrs.  Nind  said: 
Work  Begun  “  Frozen  Minnesota  will  vet,  God  helping  her,  plant 
a  mission  at  the  equator;”  and  personally  pledged 
$3,000  for  this  purpose.  Miss  Sophia  A.  Blaekmore  of  Aus¬ 
tralia  was  appointed,  and  began  her  work  August  15,  1887. 
A  day  school  for  Tamil  girls  was  opened  in  Singapore,  and 
the  women  were  visited  in  their  homes.  In  1888  Miss  Black- 

16 


more  opened  a  school  for  Chinese  girls  in  Teluk  Ayer,  the  field 
constantly  widened,  and  in  1892  other  helpers  were  sent. 

In  1899  Bishop 
Foss  wrote:  “The 
Malaysia  Mission 
Conference  has  the 
genius  of  expan¬ 
sion.  I  could  select 
from  the  number 
of  its  present  mis¬ 
sionaries  a  first- 
rate  man  to  be  the 
founder  of  missions 
in  Bangkok  or  Ma¬ 
nila  or  Borneo  or 
Sumatra, and  could 
find  men  who  are 
anxious  to  go  and 
open  the  work  in  those  places.”  From  the  first  the  mission¬ 
aries  to  Mai  aysia  have  been  possessed  by  the  ambition  to 
take  possession  of  every  strategic  position,  to  spread  the 
kingdom  to  every  corner  of  this  vast  region.  The  mis- 
Spirit  of  sion  was  scarcely  five  years  old  when  the  spirit  of  con- 
Conquest  quest  led  to  an  exploring  expedition  to  Borneo.  In 
January,  1890,  I)r.  West  and  Dr.  Luering  crossed  over 
to  Pontianak,  on  the  southwest  coast,  and  explored  the 
Ivapuas  River  for  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  into 
the  interior.  This  they  found  to  be  a  magnificent  stream, 
navigable  for  ocean  steamers  for  more  than  two  hundred 
miles,  and  lined  on  either  bank  with  Dyak  villages. 
Borneo  Shortly  after  the  Annual  Meeting,  in  February,  1891, 
Explored  Dr.  John  C.  Floyd,  then  superintendent  of  the  mission, 
and  Dr.  Luering  made  another  tour  through  British 
North  Borneo,  on  the  north  end  of  the  island.  On  this  trip 
it  was  decided  that  Dr.  Luering  should  remain  and  open 
work  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kimanis  River  among  the  Dyaks. 
Dr.  Luering  remained  there  the  greater  part  of  that  year, 
but  before  the  next  Annual  Meeting  circumstances  compelled 

17 


him  to  return  to  Singapore,  and  the  mission  to  Borneo  was 
abandoned. 

The  records  of  the  same  year  begin  the  story  of  another 
mission  that  has  proved  more  successful.  At  the  Annual 
Meeting  it  was  decided  to  open  work  in  Penang,  on  the  west 


DYAK  DWELLING,  BORNEO 


coast  of  the  peninsula.  Penang  is  the  second  city  in  the 
Straits  Settlements,  and  has  a  population  of  about  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty-five  thousand  people,  most  of  them  being 
Chinese  or  Tamils.  “  The  island  of  Penang  was  acquired  by 
the  English  government  by  cession  from  a  native 
Extension  prince  in  1785  for  the  small  annual  payment  of 
to  Penang  $6,000.  It  is  two  miles  from  the  mainland,  and  is 
twelve  miles  long  and  nine  wide.  Later  a  small 
strip  was  taken  possession  of  on  the  opposite  coast  to  arrest 
the  Malay  piracy  of  that  part  of  the  high  seas.  This  strip 
is  known  as  Province  Wellesley,  and  was  purchased  for  an 
annuity  of  $2,000.” 

In  the  spring  of  1891  the  Rev.  Daniel  D.  Moore  and  the 
Rev.  Benjamin  H.  Balderston  were  chosen  to  begin 
Rapid  Growth  this  new  mission.  In  July  Mr.  Balderston  opened 
a  school  on  the  plan  of  the  Anglo-Chinese  school 
at  Singapore,  and  a  few  weeks  later  he  was  joined  by  Mr. 

18 


Moore,  who  began  English  preaching  services.  The  Penang 
Mission  grew  until,  in  1895,  it  was  made  a  separate  district, 
with  Dr.  West  as  presiding  elder.  Under  his  able  and  ener- 


11EV.  H.  L.  E.  LUERING  PH.D. 
['residing  Elder,  l’erak  District 

MRS.  LUKRING 
Teacher  of  a  Day  School 


REV.  WILLIAM  E.  LOWTHER 
Principal  Boys’  School,  I  poll 

MISS  C.  ETHEL  JACKSON 
Principal  Girls’  School,  Taipeng 


getic  management  Penang  became  the  center  of  a  large  and 
flourishing  group  of  outstations. 

The  next  outpost  to  be  occupied  was  Ipoh,  the  capital  of 

19 


the  native  state  of  Perak,  on  the  peninsula.  In  November  of 
1894  the  Rev.  Tinsley  W.  Stagg  was  sent  to  open  an  Anglo- 
Chinese  school.  On  account  of  his  wife’s  illness  Mr. 
Ipoh  a  Stagg  remained  only  part  of  a  year,  and  then  was 

New  Center  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  William  E.  Horley.  The  mis¬ 
sion  at  Ipoh  has  also  grown  until  now  it  appears  in 
the  list  of  appointments  as  the  Perak  District. 

In  1896  Mr.  Munson  was  appointed  to  open  a  mission  at 
Kuala  Lumpur,  the  capital  of  the  Federated  Malay  States. 

A  preliminary  trip  was  made,  but  the  health  of 
Kuala  Lumpur  Mrs.  Munson  failed,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Munson  re- 
and  Malacca  turned  to  America.  It  was  not  till  March,  1897, 
that  the  work  at  Kuala  Lumpur  was  really  begun 
by  Dr.  W.  T.  Kensett  and  his  wife.  The  same  year  saw  a 
native  Chinese  preacher  placed  at  historic  Malacca. 

In  the  appointments  of  the  Malaysia  Conference  of  1900 
we  find  what  probably  has  no  parallel  in  the  history  of 
Methodism.  We  read:  “Philippine  Islands  District,  Presid¬ 
ing  Elder,  to  be  supplied;  Manila,  English  Church,  to 
Philippine  be  supplied;  Spanish  work,  to  be  supplied;  Edu- 
Islands  cational  work,  to  be  supplied;  Soldiers’  and  Seamen’s 
Institute,  Mrs.  A.  E.  Prautch;  Iloilo,  to  be  supplied.” 

The  marvelous  story  of  the  development  of  this  presiding 
elder’s  district,  which  had  no  presiding  elder,  no  preachers, 
and  no  Church  organization,  does  not  belong  to  this  little 
book. 

Sarawak  is  a  strip  of  territory  four  hundred  miles  long 
on  the  northwest  coast  of  Borneo.  This  district  is  inhabited 
by  numerous  tribes  of  head-hunting  Dyaks  and 
Sarawak  Malays  with  a  goodly  number  of  Chinese.  These 
Dyaks  and  Malays  were  formerly  pirates  and  the 
terrors  of  the  archipelago. 

In  1840  Sir  James  Brooke,  while  on  an  exploring  trip, 
visited  Borneo.  At  that  time  the  Sultan  of  Brunei  (Borneo) 
was  engaged  in  putting  down  a  rebellion,  and  he  asked  Mr. 
Brooke  to  assist  with  his  sailors  and  cannon.  A  relative  of 
the  sultan  was  serving  as  Rajah  of  Sarawak,  but  he  was  not 
strong  enough  to  control  the  people;  so  the  sultan  persuaded 

99 


Mr.  Brooke  to  accept  the  position  of  ruler  of  that  district. 
The  following  year,  by  an  arrangement  with  the  sultan,  Mr. 
Brooke  obtained  a  deed  to  the  country,  and  became  an  inde¬ 
pendent  Rajah  or  King  of  Sarawak.  A  settled  form  of  govern¬ 
ment  was  established,  and  the  country  has  been  steadily 


SKULLS  OF  MEN  SLAIN,  DYAK  HEAD  HUNTER'S  HOME 
Photograph  taken  by  I)r.  West  in  1902 


developed.  Both  Sir  James  Brooke  and  his  nephew,  the 
present  rajah,  have  had  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  value  of 
missionary  work,  and  have  consistently  encouraged  all 
efforts  made  for  the  regeneration  of  the  people. 

It  was  with  the  belief  that  Christian  colonists  were  of  more 
value  in  developing  the  country  than  non-Christian  that  the 
rajah  loaned  a  large  sum  of  money  to  a  company  to  use  in 
bringing  down  from  China  a  colony  of  Chinese  Chris- 
Chinese  tians.  Of  these  Chinese  about  six  hundred  were 
Methodist  Methodists.  As  they  were  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Colonists  Malaysia  Conference  they  must  be  cared  for  by  that 
body.  It  was  in  March,  1901,  that  Bishop  Warne 
sailed  with  the  first  shipload  of  the  colonists  to  their  new 


home.  There  was  no  money  to  send  a  missionary  over  to 
care  for  them;  so  the  work  dragged  along  until  March,  1902, 
when  Dr.  West,  as  presiding  elder  of  the  Singapore  District, 
of  which  Borneo  was  made  a  part,  went  to  Sarawak  and  or¬ 
ganized  the  work,  appointing  a  Chinese  member  of  Confer¬ 
ence  in  charge.  But  the  need  of  more  definite  supervision 
was  felt  to  be  so  great  that  in  February,  1903,  the  Rev.  James 
M.  Hoover,  who  had  been  a  teacher  in  the  Anglo-Chinese  school 
at  Penang,  was  sent  there  to  take  charge  of  the  mission. 


FIRST  QUARTERLY  CONFERENCE  IN  BORNEO 
Held  at  Sion<?  Plio,  Sarawak,  November  1, 1903 


In  1S85  the  Malaysia  Mission  was  only  an  appointment 
under  the  presiding  elder  of  the  Burma  District  of  the  South 
India  Conference.  On  April  18,  1889,  the  mission  became  a 
separate  and  independent  organization  under  a 
Organic  superintendent.  In  1893  another  step  in  advance 

Development  was  taken,  and  Malaysia  became  a  Mission  Confer¬ 
ence,  with  a  presiding  elder  of  its  own.  Then  fol¬ 
lowed  in  order  the  Penang  District,  the  Philippine  Islands 
District,  and  the  Perak  District.  But  it  was  on  February 

24 


25,  1902,  that  the  Malaysia  Mission  took  its  place  in  the  sis¬ 
terhood  of  Annual  Conferences  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  One  year  later  the  Conference  formulated  a  memorial 
asking  the  General  Conference  to  set  apart  one  of  her  chil¬ 
dren,  the  Philippine  Islands  District,  as  a  separate  mission. 

Even  as  these  pages  are  written  that  little  group  of  mis¬ 
sionaries  is  planning  ways  and  means  of  opening  some  new 
station  in  Kedah,  in  Pehang,  in  Sumatra,  in  Java,  in  Siam, 
or  in  Anam.  But  it  is  not  the  spirit  of  mere  adven- 
Pauline  ture  or  the  desire  for  “some  new  thing”  that  prompts 
Ambition  this  reaching  out  after  new  territory.  Rather  it  is  the 
ambition  of  Paul,  who  said:  “I  have  fully  preached 
the  Gospel  of  Christ;  yea,  being  ambitious  to  preach  the 
Gospel,  not  where  Christ  was  already  named,  that  I  might 
not  build  upon  another  man’s  foundation;  but,  as  it  is  writ¬ 
ten,  They  shall  see,  to  whom  no  tidings  of  him  came,  and 
they  who  have  not  heard  shall  understand.” 

PROBLEM  AND  DIFFICULTIES 

The  problem  in  Malaysia  is  the  regeneration  of  at  least 
forty  million  people,  ranging  in  civilization  all  the  way  from 
the  barbarous  head  hunters  of  the  jungles  to  the  cultured 
but  godless  European  merchant.  Upon  us  as 
Vast  Range  Christians  is  the  responsibility  of  implanting  with- 
ofWork  in  every  heart  that  will  receive  it  that  new  life 

which  comes  from  God  alone  and  which  is  the  basis 
of  all  true  spiritual  and  social  reformation. 

The  first  difficulty  to  be  met  in  solving  the  problem  is  that 
of  language.  Malaysia  is  the  meeting  place  of  all  languages 
and  dialects.  More  than  fifty  languages,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  minor  dialects,  are  spoken  on  the  streets  of  Singa- 
Multiform  pore.  The  presiding  elder  of  the  Singapore  District 
Speech  holds  Quarterly  Conferences  in  seven  distinct  languages. 

When  the  various  native  workers  are  gathered  together 
in  District  or  Annual  Conference  the  question  of  secretaries 
and  interpreters  becomes  a  serious  one.  The  language  of 
commerce  is  Malay,  but  although  the  people  of  every  land 
soon  pick  up  enough  of  this  language  to  transact  ordinary 


business,  very  few  of  them  ever  learn  enough  of  it  to  receive 
religious  instruction  in  it.  There  is  no  other  way  but  to  seek 
each  group  in  its  own  tongue.  This  means  that  every  mis¬ 
sionary  who  survives  long  enough  must  learn  from  one  to  five 
languages.  The  multitude  of  languages  complicates  the  ques- 


Tiimll  Anglo-Saxon  Chinese 

MEETING  PLACE  OF  RACES 


t.ion  of  providing  literature.  Dictionaries  must  be  compiled, 
Bibles  and  other  books  must  be  translated,  and  hymns  must 
be  written.  There  are  no  tools  ready  at  hand,  but  everything 
must  be  made  new,  not  in  one  tongue  only,  but  in  many. 

The  second  great  difficulty  to  be  met  is  that  of  the  various 

26 


false  religions.  In  round  numbers  about  thirty-five  millions 
of  the  people  are  Mohammedans.  The  others  represent  all 
forms  of  religious  beliefs,  from  the  most  primitive 
False  animism  and  fetich  worship  to  the  complex  systems 

Religions  of  India  and  China.  Up  to  the  present  time  the  diffi¬ 

culty  of  reaching  the  bigoted  and  fanatical  Mohamme¬ 
dan  Malays  has  led  to  the  concentration  of  efforts  upon  the 
Chinese  and  the  Tamils,  as  they  represent  the  way  of  least 
resistance.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe,  however,  that 
aggressive  work  among  the  more  primitive  peoples  of  the 
jungles  would  soon  yield  a  large  harvest. 


TATTOOING  A  BOY  IN  JAVA 


The  third  great  obstacle  to  the  evangelization  of  Malaysia 
is  the  trying  climate.  The  monotony  of  intense,  moist  heat 
every  day  in  the  year  so  wears  upon  the  nervous  system 
that  five  years  is  the  limit  of  time  that  a  missionary 
Trying  can  remain  in  Malaysia  without  serious  risk  of  per- 

Climate  manently  injuring  his  health.  Comparatively  few 

are  able  to  return  to  the  field  after  their  first  term. 
This  leaves  the  work  to  a  large  extent  in  new  hands. 


If  a  fourth  obstacle  should  be  mentioned  it  would  be  that  of 
the  migratory  character  of  the  population.  Just  as  a  few 
years  ago  the  people  of  the  Eastern  States  poured  out  over 
the  Western  Territories  of  America  in  search  of  wealth. 
Changing  moving  here  and  there  as  the  hope  of  greater  profits 
Population  beckoned  them  on,  so  the  people  of  China  are  pour¬ 
ing  into  Malaysia  in  search  of  gain.  The  whole  per¬ 
sonnel  of  a  congregation  may  change  in  a  single  year.  It 
often  seems  like  sowing  seed  by  the  wayside  to  be  lost  for¬ 
ever,  but  it  is  not  entirely  so;  for  as  our  evangelists  push 
out  into  new  towns  and  villages  they  find  here,  there,  and 
everywhere  those  who  have  at  some  time  been  in  the  mission 
in  some  other  place.  This  meeting  with  one  known  in  some 
other  city  often  serves  as  an  opening  wedge  for  the  Gospel  in 
a  village  where  it  would  otherwise  be  hard  to  get  a  hearing. 
As  year  after  year  we  enlarge  our  borders  it  becomes  more 
and  more  easy  to  follow  up  those  in  whose  hearts  some  seed 
has  been  sown. 


SAVING  FORCES 

The  regenerating  forces  which  the  Methodist  Church  is 
putting  into  operation  in  Malaysia  may  be  classified  under 
three  heads — evangelistic  work,  school  work,  and  the  spread 
of  Christian  literature.  Up  to  the  present  time  very  little 
medical  work  has  been  undertaken. 

While  the  mission  of  the  Church  in  Malaysia  is  primarily 
meant  to  reach  Asiatics,  it  has  not  overlooked  its  respon¬ 
sibility  toward  the  Europeans  settled  in  the  port  cities. 

The  work  in  Malaysia  was  begun  by  evangelistic 
Evangelizing  services  among  the  English-speaking  people  of 
Europeans  Singapore,  and  from  the  first  there  has  been  a 
practically  self-supporting  church  in  that  place. 
There  are  also  English-speaking  congregations  at  Penang, 
Ipoh,  and  Kuala  Lumpur.  While  these  three  congregations 
are  not  entirely  self-supporting,  they  contribute  largely  to 
the  support  of  the  native  work  in  the  surrounding  villages, 
and  they  serve  as  object-lessons  in  organized  church  life  to 
the  native  people. 


28 


In  native  work,  as  in  English  work,  the  whole  machinery 
of  the  home  Church  is  put  into  operation  as  rapidly  as  the 
development  of  the  organization  will  permit.  The  opening 
of  a  new  station  in  a  village  or  a  neighborhood  is 
Reaching  usually  preceded  by  street  preaching.  A  missionary, 
the  Natives  with  a  native  helper  or  two,  finds  his  way  into  a 
village,  selects  a  convenient  street  corner,  and  begins 
to  sing.  The  unusual  noise  attracts  a  crowd.  The  missionary 
mounts  a  doorstep  or  box,  and  explains  the  nature  of  his 
message  and  calls  upon  his  helpers  to  testify  to  the  power  of 
the  Gospel.  Por¬ 
tions  of  the  Bible, 
tracts,  and  Chris¬ 
tian  calendars  are 
offered  for  sale. 

Sometimes  these 
visits  are  made  at 
night,  and  magic- 
lantern  pictures 
are  thrown  upon 
a  screen  while  the 
missionary  tells 
the  stories  of  the 
Bible.  Sooner  or 
later  some  man 
will  be  found  who 
is  ready  to  offer  the  use  of  a  room  in  his  home  for  a  small 
rental  or  free  for  the  services.  As  soon  as  the  prejudice  has 
disappeared  sufficiently  for  the  people  to  sit  quietly  and  listen 
the  crowd  is  divided  into  smaller  groups,  where  more  direct 
and  personal  work  can  be  done.  This  is  the  beginning  of  the 
Sunday  school. 

As  converts  begin  to  come  in,  a  rudimentary  church  or¬ 
ganization  is  formed,  which  gradually  develops  into  a  regular 
church,  with  its  officers  and  its  sacraments.  The  converts  are 
taught  to  give  first  toward  the  rent  and  incidentals  and 
then  toward  the  pastor’s  salary.  A  preacher  is  appointed 
to  look  after  the  congregation,  and  the  missionary  moves  on 

29 


to  another  place,  leaving  behind  him  a  church  self-supporting 
both  financially  and  spiritually. 

The  Methodist  Church  in  Malaysia  is  now  doing  evangel¬ 
istic  work  in  nine  languages — English,  Tamil,  Malay,  Hok- 
kien,  Foochow,  Hakka,  Cantonese,  Hinghua,  and  Tiu  Chiew 
— and  will  soon  begin  services  in  the  Dvak  language. 
In  Many  But  it  has  not  been  according  to  any  plan  of  the 
Tongues  missionaries  to  enter  upon  so  many  different  fields. 

They  have  merely  followed  the  leadings  of  Providence 
into  the  open  doors.  A  Foochow  man,  who  also  understands 
the  Amoy  language,  finds  his  way  into  an  Amoy  service,  and 


NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING,  SING  CHHU  ANG,  BORNEO 


becomes  interested,  is  converted,  and  carries  the  news  back 
to  his  own  family  and  neighborhood.  He  gathers  about  him 
friends  and  neighbors  who  do  not  understand  the  Amoy. 
Their  spiritual  needs  must  be  met;  so  services  are  begun  in 
Foochow.  Thus  from  step  to  step  the  mission  has  been  led 
to  take  up  new  responsibilities  until  it  has  reached  its  present 
polyglot  condition. 


AXGLO-CHIXKSE  BOYS1  SCHOOL,  SINGAPORE 


The  objective  point  of  all  mission  work  is  to  lead  souls  to 
God,  and  evangelistic  work  is  the  most  direct  method  of 
accomplishing  this  end.  But  the  evangelist  does  not  always 
find  a  welcome.  It  frequently  happens  that  there 
The  can  be  found  no  point  of  common  interest  between 

Educational  the  missionary  and  the  people.  The  people  are  con- 
Door  tent  with  their  own  way  of  living,  and  resent  any 
interference  on  the  part  of  a  foreigner.  But  let  a 
boy  or  a  girl  become  a  pupil  in  one  of  the  mission  schools, 
and  the  whole  situation  is  at  once  altered.  Interest  in  a  child 
gives  free  access  to  the  home  and  frequently  to  the  hearts  of 
the  parents. 

School  work  may  be  divided  into  five  classes — day  schools 
for  boys  and  for  girls,  boarding  schools  for 
Kinds  of  Schools  boys  and  for  girls,  home  schools,  vernacular 
schools,  and  Bible-training  schools  for  men 
and  for  women. 

In  Singapore,  Penang,  Taipeng,  Ipoh,  and  Kuala  Lumpur 
there  are  large  Anglo-Chinese  and  Anglo-Tamil  schools  for 
boys  and  for  girls.  The  largest  of  these  is  the  Anglo- 
Chinese  Boys’  School  of  Singapore,  that  being  the 
Boys’  and  largest  mission  school  of  its  kind  in  the  world. 

Girls’  Schools  The  enrollment  for  1903  was  1,049;  the  daily  at¬ 
tendance  was  758.  The  course  of  study  in  these 
institutions  ranges  all  the  way  from  kindergarten  to  entrance 
to  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  The  teaching  is  almost  entirely 
in  English.  The  boys’  schools  are  maintained  without  aid 
from  the  missionary  treasury,  deriving  their  revenue  from 
three  sources — school  fees,  government  grants,  and  special 
gifts. 

The  objects  of  these  schools  are  to  educate  the  children 
of  native  Christians,  to  open  the  homes  of  the  people  to  the 
missionaries,  to  remove  the  prejudices  of  the  people  against 
Christianity,  and  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  younger 
Their  aims  generation  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  possibilities  to 
be  found  nowhere  but  in  the  Gospel.  To  this  end 
chapel  services  are  held  daily.  The  children  are  taught  to 
sing  Christian  songs,  and  are  instructed  in  the  fundamental 


truths  of  religion.  Voluntary  Bible  classes  are  conducted, 
at  which  a  good  percentage  of  the  students  are  in  attend¬ 
ance.  Lessons  are  explained  from  the  Christian  viewpoint, 
and  five  days  every  week  the  pupils  are  under  the  influence 
of  earnest  Christian  teachers. 

Connected  with  most  of  the  day  schools  are  boarding 
schools.  The  inmates  of  the  boys’  boarding  schools  are  for 
the  most  part  sons  of  wealthy  parents,  and 
Boarding  Schools  these  pay  for  their  board.  The  boarding 
schools  for  girls  partake  more  of  the  nature 
of  orphanages,  and  depend  upon  scholarships  from  America. 


ANGLO-CIUNESE  BOARDING  SCHOOL,  SINGAPORE 


The  seclusion  of  the  Chinese  girls  in  the  home  after  they 
reach  the  age  of  twelve  or  thirteen  years  has  compelled  the 
missionaries  to  organize  what  are  called  home 
Home  Schools  schools.  Bible  women  go  from  home  to  home, 
stopping  for  an  hour  or  so  at  each  place,  teaching 
the  older  girls  and  mothers  to  read  and  sing. 

Every  village  church  is  also  a  school.  The  native  preacher 

33 


is  expected  to  see  that  his  church  members  and  their  children 
are  taught  to  read  their  Bibles.  This  work  is  done  in  the 
vernacular  of  the  people.  The  inevitable  out- 
Marked  Effect  come  of  this  policy  is  that  while  many  of  the  con- 
in  Villages  verts  come  from  the  poor  and  illiterate  classes,  in 

a  comparatively  short  time  the  whole  social  order 
is  overturned,  and  the  Christians  become  the  educated  and 
well-to-do  people  of  the  community. 

The  most  important  branch  of  school  work  is  that  of  train¬ 
ing  native  preachers  and  Bible  women.  Until  the  last  few 
years  the  mission  has  been  compelled  to  depend  for  most  of 
its  native  preachers  upon  the  illiterate  and  untrained 
Training  converts  that  could  be  picked  up  or  upon  other  de- 

School  nominations.  The  untrained  converts  were  generally 

for  Men  unsatisfactory  in  places  where  there  was  much  re¬ 

sponsibility,  and  those  brought  from  China  or  taken 
from  other  denominations  were  unable  to  fit  in  readily  with 
the  conditions  of  life  as  found  in  the  Straits  Settlements  and 
with  the  Methodist  methods  of  work.  The  need  of  more 
efficient  helpers  led  Dr.  West,  then  presiding  elder  of  the 
Penang  District,  to  open  in  1897  a  Bible  Training  school  for 
young  men.  The  school  is  still  small,  because  it  depends 
entirely  upon  special  gifts  for  its  support.  The  course  of 
study,  which  requires  three  years  for  completion,  aims  at 
turning  out  practical  workers.  Four  days  each  week  are  de¬ 
voted  to  study,  and  the  remaining  three  days  the  students 
are  required  to  spend  in  visitation  work,  street  preaching, 
selling  Bibles,  and  supplying  appointments  in  and  near  the 
city.  Students  must  give  their  entire  time  to  the  school. 
No  one  is  permitted  to  earn  money.  In  return  the  school 
allows  to  each  student  four  dollars  a  month,  with  which  he 
must  board  and  clothe  himself.  Already  the  school  has 
more  than  justified  its  existence  by  the  increased  efficiency 
of  the  men  who  have  taken  the  course. 

In  1902  the  beginning  was  made  of  a  Bible  Training 
Women’s  school  for  women.  The  venture  is  still  in  its  infancy, 
Training  but  the  demand  for  women  trained  for  service  is  so 
School  imperative  that  such  an  institution  must  of  necessity 

34 


Teachers,  Rev.  B.  F.  West,  M.D.  Rev.  J.  R.  Denyes 
MEN’S  TRAINING  SCHOOL,  SINGAPORE 

be  fostered  until  it  shall  become  a  leading  factor  in  the  work 
of  the  Woman’s  Society. 

In  1890  the  Rev.  William  G.  Shellabear  published  in  Eng¬ 
land  an  appeal  for  funds  with  which  to  found  a  Methodist 
mission  press  in  Singapore.  In  the  fall  of  that  year, 
Christian  with  a  few  hundred  dollars  invested  in  printing 
Literature  machinery,  he  began  work  in  a  little  house  on  a  back 
street.  From  this  small  beginning  the  plant,  without 
endowment  and  with  practically  no  help  from  the  outside, 

35 


lias  grown  until  it  requires  the  services  of  more  than  thirty 
workmen.  From  its  presses  have  come  thousands  of  Bibles, 
tracts,  leaflets,  periodicals,  hymnals,  catechisms,  dictionaries, 
and  school  text-books — the  working  tools  of  the  Church. 
This  literature  is  scattered  broadcast  by  the  missionary  on 
his  rounds,  and  it  not  only  serves  the  purpose  of  teaching 
the  truth  to  those  who  have  already  entered  the  Church,  but 
it  sows  the  seed  of  future  harvests. 

RESULTS,  OUTLOOK,  NEED 

The  first  generation  in  the  life  of  a  Christian  mission  must 
of  necessity  be  a  time  of  small  beginnings.  The  heathen 
mind  cannot  readily  comprehend  that  spiritual  life  is 
a  possibility.  It  takes  years  for  an  Asiatic 
Statistics  and  people  to  realize  that  Christianity  is  not  a  sys- 

General  Influence  tern  of  forms  and  ceremonies,  purer,  perhaps, 
but  not  essentially  different  from  their  own 
forms  of  worship.  And  yet  the  Church  of  Malaysia  does 


OUR  CHURCH  AT  KUALA  LUMPUR 


not  come  with  empty  hands  as  the  result  of  her  short  life  of 
only  nineteen  years.  At  the  close  of  1903  there  were  in 
Malaysia,  apart  from  the  Philippines,  26  schools,  with  112 

3C 


teachers  and  an  enrollment  of  3,270  pupils.  The  Sunday 
schools  numbered  46,  with  102  teachers  and  1,757  scholars. 
There  were  12  foreign  missionaries,  8  assistant  missionaries, 
8  representatives  of  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 
57  local  preachers,  and  1,467  church  members  and  proba¬ 
tioners.  The  Ep worth  League  has  begun  its  work  among 
the  youth,  showing  its  worth  here  as  in  other  mission 
fields.  But  these  figures  do  not  tell  the  whole  story  of  mis¬ 
sionary  effort.  Thousands  of  Bibles,  tracts,  Scripture-text 
pictures,  and  religious  periodicals  have  been  placed  in  non- 
Christian  homes.  Several  thousand  young  men  and  young 
women  have  come  under  the  influence  of  our  mission  schools, 
and  while  they  are  not  as  yet  Christians,  they  have  lost  faith 
in  idolatry.  A  Christian  sentiment  has  begun  to  pervade 
public  thought,  and  on  every  hand  are  indications  that  the 
field  is  white  already  to  the  harvest. 

There  has  already  come  the  dawning  of  a  new  day  to  the 
Malay  Archipelago.  The  Spanish-American  war  has  opened 
the  eyes  of  the  world  to  the  marvelous  richness  of  this  almost 
unknown  region.  Year  by  year  the  overcrowded 
A  Coming  provinces  of  southern  China  are  pouring  out  more  and 
Empire  more  of  their  surplus  inhabitants  into  this  tropical 
region,  which  is  able  to  support  a  population  as  great 
as  that  of  the  United  States.  Here,  free  from  the  petty  op¬ 
pression  and  squeezing  of  a  corrupt  government,  free  to 
develop  to  its  fullest  extent  a  natural  field  capable  of  won¬ 
derful  expansion,  the  Chinaman  is  laying  the  foundations  of 
an  empire  that  will  one  day  rival  in  size  and  perhaps  in 
power  the  nations  of  the  Old  World. 

What  shall  the  ideals,  the  morals,  the  religion  of  this  new 
nation  be  ?  It  is  given  to  the  Church  of  to-day  to  do  a  work 
which  the  Church  of  the  next  generation  cannot  do.  This 
generation  is  responsible  for  setting  its  stamp  upon  a 
Preparing  civilization  in  its  formative  period,  at  a  time  when  old 
Native  traditions  and  superstitions  are  losing  their  hold,  when 
Leaders  new  conditions  are  forcing  upon  a  people  new  habits 
of  life  and  thought.  If  the  Church  is  to  mold  public 
sentiment  in  this  new  era  she  must  send  forth  not  a  few  but 

37 


many  trained  men  and  women  capable  of  taking  their  places 
as  leaders  among  the  people.  For  at  least  another  genera¬ 
tion  there  must  be  a  few  well-qualified  Americans  to  serve 
as  officers,  to  furnish  initiative  and  to  teach  organization,  but 


RESIDENCES  OF  WEALTHY  CHINESE,  SINGAPORE 

the  great  work  of  transformation  must  fall  upon  trained 
native  workers.  Funds  invested  in  the  work  of  raising  up 
an  army  of  consecrated,  educated  native  preachers  and  Bible 
women  will  yield  an  increase  of  a  hundredfold.  This  is  the 
great  need  of  Malaysia.  Its  beautiful  island  domain  forms 
the  connecting  link  between  our  work  in  southern  and  east¬ 
ern  Asia,  having  close  commercial  and  ethnic  relations  on 
the  one  side  with  India  and  on  the  other  with  China.  Some 
of  the  most  devoted  representatives  of  the  Church  have 
offered  themselves  willingly  as  a  sacrifice  for  its  uplifting. 
Others  are  needed, who  will  follow  in  the  paths  which  have  been 
opened,  and  extend  the  saving  influence  of  the  cross,  of  the 
schools,  and  of  Christian  literature  to  these  millions  of  people. 

38 


LITERATURE 


The  missionary  aspects  of  Malaysia  aie  touched  upon  in 
the  first  books  in  the  list  here  given,  and  the  more  general 
survey  of  the  natural  features  and  life  of  this  region  is  found 
in  the  later  ones  :  India  and  Malaysia,  by  Bishop  J.  M. 
Thoburn,  $1.50;  Winter  in  India  and  Malaysia  Among  the 
Methodist  Missions,  by  M.  V.  B.  Knox,  $1.20';'  From  the 
Himalayas  to  the  Equator,  by  Bishop  C.  D.  Foss,  $1;  Malay 
Archipelago,  by  A.  R.  Wallace,  $1.75;  Java,  the  Garden  of 
the  East,  by  Eliza  R.  Scidmore,  $1.50.  These  and  other 
mission  books  can  be  obtained,  through  the  pastor,  of  the 
Methodist  Book  Concern. 

THE  OPEN  DOOR  SERIES 

Each  number  of  the  Open  Door  Series  of  Mission  Booklets 
is  issued  in  a  cover  similar  to  that  on  this  number,  giving  a 
simple  outline  map  with  the  essential  facts  of  the  geography 
of  the  country,  so  that  they  can  be  seen  at  a  glance,  and 
some  things  characteristic  of  the  land  and  a  face  typical  of 
the  people.  The  one  on  India  has,  as  a  background,  the 
beautiful  Taj  Mahal;  that  on  Korea,  the  queer  Korean  hat 
and  the  famous  national  emblem,  which  appears  on  all  the 
stamps  of  Korea;  while  the  one  on  Japan  gives  the  jinrikisha 
and  the  flowers  of  the  cherry,  lotus,  and  chrysanthemum. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  present  cover  has  in  the  upper 
left-hand  corner  a  group  of  palms,  in  the  right-hand  corner 
a  branch  of  the  rambutan,  the  delicious  fruit  contained  in  a 
case  covered  with  burs  like  those  of  the  chestnut,  yet  finely 
colored  ;  the  center  at  the  left  shows  the  famous  Malay  kris, 
and  picture  of  the  susunhan  or  native  prince  of  Solo,  and  at 
the  bottom,  from  left  to  right,  are  cocoanuts,  the  mangosteen, 
both  whole  and  opened  ready  for  eating,  and  pineapples. 

Each  of  the  booklets  has  an  excellent  and,  in  most  cases, 
a  specially  prepared  map  covering  the  two  central  pages, 
and  is  rich  in  carefully  selected  illustrations.  In  all  re¬ 
spects  the  contents  are  strictly  up-to-date.  The  booklets, 
therefore,  will  prove  of  direct  value  to  Mission  Study  Classes, 

39 


those  having  charge  of  missionary  devotional  meetings, 
pastors,  women’s  societies,  Sunday  school  workers,  and 
all  who  wish  the  most  compact  and  latest  information, 
accompanied  by  very  clear  maps  and  illustrations. 

Five  or  six  other  booklets  are  planned  to  be  issued,  cov¬ 
ering  all  the  remaining  fields.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  in  each  booklet,  while  our  own  missionary  ivork  is  es¬ 
pecially  emphasized,  the  country  and  people,  the  native  reli¬ 
gions,  and  Christian  Missions  in  general  also  receive  attention , 
so  as  to  give  a  complete  survey  of  the  field. 

The  uniform  price  of  ten  cents  per  copy,  postpaid,  for 
each  of  the  booklets  is  exceedingly  low,  considering  the 
high  quality  of  matter,  paper,  and  press  work.  Send  all 
orders,  with  remittance,  to  The  Open  Door  Emergency 
Commission,  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 

Now  Ready. 

The  Korea  Mission  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
By  Rev.  Henry  G.  Appenzeller,  D.D.,  late  Superintend¬ 
ent  of  the  Mission. 

The  China  Mission  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

By  Rev.  Arthur  J.  Bowen,  Missionary,  Nanking,  China. 
The  India  Mission  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
By  Rev.  Jefferson  E.  Scott,  D.D.,  Presiding  Elder  of  the 
Ajmere  District,  India. 

The  Japan  Mission  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

By  seven  eminent  missionaries  of  Japan. 

The  Malaysia  Mission  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  By  Rev.  John  Russell  Denyes,  Missionary, 
Singapore,  Malaysia. 


40 


